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clean out yo’ frige: stuffed peppers and parmesan baked tomatoes

Stuffed peppers equal comfort food for me, and that’s exactly what I’ve been in need of lately. Life seems to be speeding up post graduation, when I was told it would be slowing down… when does the slow begin because I’m ready for the chaos to cease! Anyway, my Grandmere use to make stuffed peppers frequently, and I’ve modified her simple recipe with a vegan “meat” option. These peppers have a hodgepodge of ingredients from my refrigerator leftover from other delicious meals! Yeah, I hate throwing food out especially if it can be re-used in another recipe to cut time and effort. The rice was leftover from the baked falafel with lemon-dill rice and “love salad” recipe, and the quinoa, black beans and “sausage” were leftover from a quickie clean dinner of baked sweet potatoes, quinoa, steamed black beans and Fieldroast sausage that I whipped up two nights prior. The stuffed peppers turned out so well and the parmesan baked tomatoes were probably my favorite! The tomatoes baked and became soft while the Follow Your Heart vegan parmesan shreds melted and bubbled into damn goodness. This is a relatively easy and quick recipe to prepare. Took me about 30 minutes to prep the peppers before baking them for 2 hours. That sounds like a lot of time, but if you do other chores or relax, then the time ticks away. Also, you can pretty much stuff anything into a pepper, bake it and it will taste amazing. Next time, I think I will try to put some vegan cheese shreds into the mix, and see how it comes out. Cheesy stuffed peppers sounds dangerously delicious to me. I hope you enjoy this stuffed peppers recipe! BTW- the peppers became so tender, they were like roasted red peppers. The skin peeled right off… EPIC!

6 tbsp grapeseed oil, divided into 2 tbsp each for pan cooking, and both baking dishes

3 cups cooked quinoa (leftovers

1/2 cup cooked rice (leftover lemon dill basmati)

2 white onions, diced

9 cloves garlic, crushed whole

1 cups steamed black beans (leftovers)

1/4 cup field roast Italian sausage (leftovers)

1 bunch parsley

1 tsp salt & freshly ground pepper

stuffed pepper directions:

In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp of oil on high and add your diced onions and crushed garlic. Let this get a nice brown color before cooking the Fieldburgers. Once you add in the Fieldburger and let it brown, add your fresh parsley, salt and pepper. About 10 minutes and the burger “meat” is cooked, then add in the leftover rice, quinoa, black beans, and “sausage”. Let everything get acquainted and the consistency is even. Remove from heat and set aside. Take a large dutch oven, or oven-safe tall-ish roasting dish and add 2 tbsp oil to the bottom. One by one, stuff your hollowed out bell peppers with the mixture from the pan. Once filled, place in the dutch oven or roasting dish so the pepper stands up. Replace the top back on. Repeat this process until all of the peppers are stuffed. Then it’s time to get sauce-y. Preheat your oven to 375°F! P.S…. I had to use two baking dishes to accommodate my 9 peppers.

sauce ingredients:

90 oz (or 3, 30 oz cans) canned tomato sauce/puree

Sprinkled Dried Italian herbs: oregano, basil, parsley

salt to taste

sauce directions:

Probably the easiest sauce you will ever make. Open the cans and pour the sauce around the peppers. Make sure the peppers are about 3/4 of the way covered in a pool of tomato bliss. Then, add dried Italian herbs and salt to the top. Spoon a little sauce on the pepper tops, but not a lot because you don’t want them to get too top-heavy and spill out. Now, your peppers are ready for baking! Bake @ 375°F for 2 hours total. Check after 1 hour, and spoon some more sauce on top. Then move it to a higher or lower rack (whichever one you did not have it on during the first hour)! After 2 hours, the tops should be a little dark, and the peppers should be fully cooked. Let them stand for about 10 minutes before serving. You will need both hands for serving… One with tongs and the other with a shallow ladle for pepper bottom support. Top with that wonderful sauce that just simmered in pepper goodness for 2 hours.

baked tomatoes directions: In a smaller baking dish, add 1 tbsp grapeseed oil to the bottom to coat the dish. Add your cut tomato halves face side up. Sprinkle (generously) the Follow Your Heart Vegan Parmesan Shreds and salt/pepper. Bake these for about 40 minutes with the peppers on 375°F, and after the peppers are removed, crank the temp to 425°F and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes. Keep a watchful eye because some ovens take less time than others. These tomatoes were so simple to make, and absolutely scrumptious. I ate two whole tomatoes of these guys… No regrets!